Public transport

London's public transport scored poorly in the IOC's initial evaluation; however, it felt that, if the improvements were delivered in time for the Games, London would cope.[54] Transport for London (TfL) carried out numerous improvements in preparation for 2012, including the expansion of the London Overground's East London Line, upgrades to the Docklands Light Railway and the North London Line,[55] and the introduction of a new "Javelin" high-speed rail service.[56] According to Network Rail, an additional 4,000 train services operated during the Games, and train operators ran longer trains during the day.[57] During the Games, Stratford International station was not served by any international services (just as it had not been before the Games),[58] westbound trains did not stop at Hackney Wick railway station,[59][dead link] and Pudding Mill Lane DLR station closed entirely during the Games.[60]
The Emirates Air Line crosses the River Thames between Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks
TfL also built a ?25 million cable car across the River Thames, called the Emirates Air Line, to link 2012 Olympics venues.[61] It was inaugurated in June 2012, and crosses the Thames between Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks, carrying up to 2,500 passengers an hour, cutting journey times between the O2 arena and the ExCeL exhibition centre and providing a crossing every 30 seconds.[62]
The plan was to have 80% of athletes travel less than 20 minutes to their event,[63] and 93% of them within 30 minutes of their event.[64] The Olympic Park would be served by ten separate railway lines with a combined capacity of 240,000 passengers per hour.[65] In addition, LOCOG planned for 90% of the venues to be served by three or more types of public transport.[64] Two park-and-ride sites off the M25 with a combined capacity of 12,000 cars were 25 minutes away from the Olympic Park. Another park-and-ride site was planned in Ebbsfleet with a capacity for 9,000 cars where spectators could board a 10-minute shuttle bus.[64] To get spectators to Eton Dorney, four park-

nd-ride schemes were set up.[66]
Olympic rings marked on a street, indicating that the lane was reserved for the use of Olympic athletes and staff.
TfL defined a network of roads leading between venues as the Olympic Route Network; roads connecting between all of the Olympic venues located within London. Many of these roads also contained special "Olympic lanes" marked with the Olympic rings—reserved for the use of Olympic athletes, officials, and other VIPs during the Games. Members of the public driving in an Olympic lane were subject to a fine of ?130. Additionally, London buses would not include roads with Olympic lanes on their routes.[67][68][69] The painting of Olympic lane indicators in mid-July led to confusion from commuters, who wrongly believed that the Olympic lane restrictions had already taken effect (they were to take effect on 27 July). The A4 experienced traffic jams due to drivers avoiding the Olympic lane, and likewise on a section of Southampton Row, where the only lanes available in one direction were the Olympic lane and the bus lane.[70]
Concerns were expressed at the logistics of spectators travelling to the events outside London. In particular, the sailing events at Portland had no direct motorway connections, and local roads are heavily congested by tourist traffic in the summer.[71] However, a ?77 million relief road connecting Weymouth to Dorchester was built and opened in 2011.[72][73] Some ?16 million was put aside for the rest of the improvements.[74]
TfL created a promotional campaign and website, Get Ahead of the Games, to help provide information related to transport during the Olympics and Paralympics. Through the campaign, TfL also encouraged the use of cycling as a mode of transport during the Games.[75] However, despite this encouragement to use bicycles, members of the public protested that riding bikes on London roads would be more dangerous due to the blocked Olympic lanes, and also protested against a decision to close the Lea Valley towpath during the Olympics and Paralympics due to security concerns.